Our mission is to organize a United Front with all Irish organizations, and supporters of the Irish heritage and culture. We will identify and address by use of peaceful and professional means all Irish defamation and discrimination in all its forms!

MISSION STATEMENT

To organize a united group of people, from all Irish and human rights organizations, and supporters of Irish heritage and culture, in an effort to identify Irish defamation in its many forms, and to work as a force against this continuing prejudice in contemporary society.

CURRENT FORMS OF DEROGATORY SITUATIONS

Various Retailers/ Vendors- selling derogatory T-shirts and other merchandise

Radio/Newspaper/T.V. advertisements- Use of grossly inaccurate depictions, or bad taste in humor

Bars/Pubs & Restaurants- Use St. Patrick's Day as a drinking holiday

IRISH NIGHT OF COMEDY

WHERE: THE PHILADELPHIA BALLROOM

2014 HORNING ROAD, PHILADELPHIA PA

WHEN: OCTOBER 19 8PM-12AM

HOW MUCH: $50 PER PERSON

You get a night of comedy with a FOUR HOUR open bar, buffet, chinese auction, cash draw and CRAIC FOR ALL! HEADLINER THE LEGENDARY WID!!!! THE ORIGINAL PROP COMIC WHO STARTED IT ALL, AND CAN BE SEEN AT PHILDELPHIAS LAUGH HOUSE. THE LEGENDARY WID TOPS OFF A NIGHT OF FOUR COMEDIANS.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As a member of the Irish Community, you have the right to be offended and speak up!

-E-mail campaigns

-Letter writing campaigns

-Public demonstrations at location

These are various techniques used by many groups to effectively address negative merchandise. If you see anything offensive to you, feel free to contact us!

UPCOMING EVENT

Our meetings will be the THIRD THURSDAY of each month at :

THE IRISH CENTER

6531 EMLEN STREET

PHILADELPHIA, PA

MEETINGS WILL START AT 7:30 PM

OFFICERS REPORT AT 7!

YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED IF MEETING IS CHANGED DUE TO A HOLIDAY OR ANY EVENT.

I.A.D.F. IN THE NEWS

***** THE NEW JERSEY HALL OF FAME HAS ANNOUNCED THAT NAST HAS NOT GAINED ENTRY INTO THE HALL FAME, DUE TO THE ONGOING PROTESTS, AND RESISTANCE! THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO CALLED AND VOTED ONLINE!~ THIS IS A HUGE VICTORY FOR THE IRISH PAST AND PRESENT!

Insensitivity of New Jersey Hall of Fame to Americans of Irish heritage!

In the sad tradition of forgetting its own American history, the New Jersey Hall of Fame has listed the 19th Century political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, as a nomineefor induction into its organization! Irish people and groups from throughout the Delaware Valley are appalled by this selection of the man whose widely-published “works” portrayed Irish settlers to this country as violent drunks and apes.

Thomas Nast’s drawings are often cited by historians throughout this country as perpetuating negative stereotypes and the anti-Irish sentiment of the “Nativists” of a few decades earlier, which saw Roman Catholic churches burned to the ground and Irish neighborhoods laid waste.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame feels that Nast’s bigotry and racism (of Irish and other minority settlers to the U.S.) does not overshadow Nast’s contributions to American political cartoons, and that Nast’s work was taken out of its context and misconstrued.

But the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation’s Members and Honorary Board note that Nast’s success in newspapers and magazines was due to his very pointed images, which did NOT make his readers wonder what he meant back in his time, and certainly not in our own enlightened present day.

The IADF, together with Irish-American and human rights organizations, is campaigning against Thomas Nast’s name on the ballot for induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. America should be proud of its more recent history of inclusion into her society, and not go backwards to the dark days of anti-ethnic oppression by rewarding Thomas Nast, even posthumously. All are welcome to vote against Nast through the NJ Hall of Fame website,at http://www.njhalloffame.org

Whenever visions of Santa Claus dance in our heads, the image we often conjure up is the cheery, red-cheeked elf drawn by 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast.

Acclaimed as the father of all political cartoonists, Nast drew for Harper’s Weekly in the mid- to late-1800s. His drawings of St. Nick are undeniably iconic. (The Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey? Those were his too.)

So, you might ask, how could the artist who brought Father Christmas to life have so many Irish-Americans in such an uproar?

Simply this: Nast’s cartoon characterizations of the Irish in general, and Irish Catholics in particular, are construed by many Irish as deeply offensive. In Nast’s illustrations, the Irish were depicted as drunken, violent hooligans who resembled monkeys … and Roman Catholic cardinals were snapping alligators threatening the American way of life. This year, Nast’s illustrations are no longer simply a matter for the history books. Nast, who lived in Morristown, N.J., is among the nominees for the 2012 New Jersey Hall of Fame—and that has New Jersey politicians, including Gov. Chris Christie, and organizations such as the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians, questioning his inclusion.

Locally, Philadelphia’s Irish Anti-Defamation Federation (IADF) is orchestrating a letter-writing campaign which the group hopes will lead the Hall of Fame to drop Nast from consideration. The group met Thursday night at the Philadelphia Irish Center to map out strategy.

Recently, IADF Chairman Tim Wilson sent a letter of protest to Hall of Fame Executive Director Don Jay Smith, in which Wilson suggested the Hall of Fame board of commissioners failed to appreciate Nast’s “deplorable history.”

"The Usual Irish Way of Doing Things" by Thomas Nast

“Thomas Nast is infamous in American history as one who portrayed Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans as violent apes and drunks. Nast, both in his verbal rhetoric and in his drawings, was openly prejudiced against the Irish people, and Roman Catholics from all groups of citizens in America,” Wilson wrote. “Thomas Nast’s paid ’work’ has been cited by social historians as instigating the Nativist riots in America, wherein Roman Catholic churches were burned to the ground, and Irish neighborhoods laid waste.”

Wilson demanded that Nast be removed from this year’s ballot (you can see it here) and from all future consideration, and he requested a public apology.

In an interview before the meeting, Wilson said, “They (the Hall of Fame) argue that he is famous, that he’s a part of history. They think we should overlook his bigotry because of Santa Claus, the elephant and the donkey.”

They should think again, Wilson said.”We’ve put up with the stereotyping. Now people are just getting tired of it.”

Wilson noted that the New Jersey Ancient Order of Hibernians is a member of the Hall of Fame voting committee, which reviews nominees and pares them down to a field of 50, divided into five categories. In this case, Wilson said, the Ancient Order of Hibernians “were never contacted.”

In an interview Friday, Executive Director Smith said all members of the Hall of Fame Voting Committee were contacted. At the time, the committee included the former president of the state AOH. “No one ever said anything about Nast not being wanted or not worthy.”

"Merry Old Santa Claus" by Thomas Nast

The Hall of Fame board of commissioners includes many Irish-Americans, Smith added, and not one has raised an objection. Furthermore, Smith observed that Nast has been nominated three times, but no one has questioned his presence on the ballot … until now.

The decision now rests with the public, which votes for the nominees online.

Smith said no one associated with the Hall of Fame intended to “upset or offend anyone.” He went on to suggest that Nast’s cartoons need to be considered in the light of history. Nast’s ultimate target was the notorious “Boss” Tweed and New York City’s Tammany Hall Machine. Irish immigrants were regarded as key supporters of that infamously corrupt regime.

“People should consider these flaws in the context of the time,” Smith said. “Political cartoonists are the attack dogs of journalism. They always stir people up more than the written word.”

Moreover, Smith said, Nast’s Irish cartoons make up a small percentage of his work, and his characterizations of the Irish lasted only as long as the Tammany Hall Machine remained in power.

Voting for the Hall of Fame continues through January 1. The 2012 inductees will be announced later that month.